The Ghibli was first unveiled as a 2-seat prototype at the November 1966 Turin Motor Show.[2] Its steel body, characterized by a low, shark-shaped nose, was designed by a young Giorgetto Giugiaro, then working at Ghia. The car featured pop-up headlamps, leather front sport seats and alloy wheels. Two rear seats consisting of nothing more than a cushion without backrest were added to the production run, allowing the Ghibli to be marketed as a 2+2. Deliveries started in March of 1967.[3]

The car was powered by a front placed quad-cam 4.7 L, 310 PS (228 kW; 306 bhp) dry sump V8 engine mated to a five-speed manual, with a three-speed automatic optional. It had a 0-60 mph time of 6.8 seconds, a top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph).

The 2-seat Ghibli Spyder went into production in 1969. Its convertible top folded under a flush fitting body-colour tonneau cover behind the front seats. A removable hard top was available as an option.

The Ghibli name was resurrected with the unveiling of the 1992 Ghibli (Tipo AM336), a two-door, four-seater coupé with twin-turbo V6 engines. Like the V8 Maserati Shamal, it was an evolution of the previous Biturbo coupés; the doors, interior, and basic bodyshell were carried over from the Biturbo.

The Ghibli was launched at the 62nd Turin Motor Show in April 1992.[5] The Ghibli was powered by updated 24-valve Biturbo engines: a 2.0-litre V6 coupled to a six-speed manual transmission for the Italian market,[6] and a 2.8-litre V6 for export, at first with a 5-speed manual, then from 1995 with the 6-speed.[7] A 4-speed automatic was optional. The coupé was built for luxury as well as performance, and its interior featured Connolly leather upholstery and burl elm trim.

1994 Ghibli

At the 1994 Geneva Motor Show, Maserati launched an updated Ghibli.[8] A refreshed interior, new wing mirrors, wider and larger 17" alloy wheels of a new design, fully adjustable electronic suspension and ABS brakes were added. The Ghibli Open Cup single-make racing car was announced in late 1994.

Two sport versions were introduced in 1995. The first was the Ghibli Kit Sportivo,[9] whose namesake handling kit included wider tyres on OZ "Futura III" split-rim wheels, specific springs, dampers and anti-roll bars. The second was the limited edition Ghibli Cup, which brought some features of the Open Cup racer into a road-going model; it debuted at the December 1995 Bologna Motor Show.[10] it mounted a 2-litre engine upgraded to 330 PS (243 kW; 325 hp).[11][12] At the time the Ghibli Cup had the highest ever per litre power output of any street legal car, surpassing the Bugatti EB110 and Jaguar XJ220. Chassis upgrades included tweaked suspension and Brembo brakes. Visually the Cup was recognizable from its 5-spoke split-rim Speedline wheels and badges on the doors. Only four paint colours were available: red, white, yellow and French blue. The sporty theme continued in the Cup's cabin with black leather, carbon fibre trim, aluminium pedals and a MOMO steering wheel.

A second round of improvements resulted in the Ghibli GT in 1996. It was fitted with 7-spoked 17" alloy wheels, black headlight housings, and had suspension and transmission modifications.

On 4 November 1996 on the Lake Lugano, Guido Cappellini broke the flying kilometre's World Speed Record on water in the 5-litre class piloting a composite-hulled speedboat powered by the biturbo V6 from the Ghibli Cup and run by Bruno Abbate's Primatist/Special Team, at an average speed of 216,703 km/h.[13][14] To celebrate the world record Maserati made 60 special edition Ghiblis called the Ghibli Primatist. The cars featured special Ultramarine blue paintwork and two-tone blue/turquoise leather interior trimmed in polished burrwalnut.

Production of the second generation Ghibli ended in summer 1998.[15] It was replaced in the Maserati range by the 3200 GT.

A single-make racing series for the Ghibli, the Open Cup, was run two seasons—1995 and 1996. Twenty-five Ghibli Open Cup racing cars were prepared. They were based on the two-litre model, tuned to 320 PS (235 kW; 316 hp)[16] by using roller-bearing turbochargers, a freer-flowing exhaust, and remapped fuel computers; a roll cage, Sparco racing seats, a Momo racing steering wheel, aluminium shifter knob and pedals, 5-point belts, automatic fire extinguishing system, an aluminium sump guard, carbon fibre air-intakes, a modified fuel system and 17" 5-spoke Speedline wheels completed the outfitting. In 1995 eight races were held, two in Italy and six across Europe.[17] In 1996, the car received a modification upgrade, resulting in similar track times to those of the Ferrari 355 Challenge. After the end of the 1995 racing season, several of the original 23 cars were used in national GT events. Today the Ghibli Open Cup is highly sought after by collectors.

The current third generation Ghibli (Tipo M157) was unveiled at the 2013 Shanghai motor show. The Ghibli is offered with three different 3.0-litre V6 engines: a twin-turbocharged 330 PS (240 kW; 330 hp) or 410 PS (300 kW; 400 hp) petrol and a 275 PS (202 kW; 271 hp) turbodiesel, making the Ghibli the first Maserati production car to be powered by a diesel engine. An eight-speed automatic transmission is standard on all models; all wheel drive is available with the most powerful V6, although not in right hand drive markets.